I don’t think I realized how truly divisive a filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu was before prepping to write this article. I mean, he’s one of the most decorated Mexican filmmakers in history, with four Academy Awards, three BAFTAs, four Golden Globes and a win for Best Director at Cannes, but it seems like most of […]
Film
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No Wrong Way to Festival
The Bend Film Festival turns 23
I’ve been to every single Bend Film Festival since 2003. That’s not a brag. It’s just a window into how much I’ve watched this thing evolve over the decades, in ways almost exclusively positive. Back then, it was hard not to feel like I was standing (more like sitting and watching) the genesis of something […]
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Schrödinger’s Cinema
“Resident Evil” and the art of the reboot
I don’t think I could ever survive as one of those social media film pundits who make a living dropping smooth-brained hot takes on movies they haven’t seen. As someone who has spent the last 20 years mostly paying their bills by watching and writing about cinema and pop culture in general, when I imagine […]
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Witches, Legacies and Cozy Cinema
Practical Magic 2 conjures that nostalgia dollar
I’ve been enjoying this recent trend of sequels getting released decades after the original. Obviously, it’s a way for a studio to cash in on existing IP by reminding fans of something they love, exploiting that nostalgia and then wringing it out for every dollar they can find. Still, I find a certain comfort in […]
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Eat Your Heart Out
Oregon filmmaker Taylor Morden levels up
I first met Oregon-based filmmaker Taylor Morden when he was directing the documentary, “The Last Blockbuster,” and he interviewed me about my deep and abiding love of physical media. Since then, Morden has been busy. Among other projects, he has made “Unstuffed” (a documentary about Build-a-Bear), “Getting Lost” (a doc focused on the cultural footprint […]
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Art vs. Commerce
Or how Wile E. Coyote took on a tax credit
So far, our fall movie season has delivered a few genuine surprises in terms of quality, with even more promising releases looming on the horizon. Usually at this point in the year, theatrical releases are a hodgepodge of quality, as studios continue to prove they rarely know how to market their own movies, let alone […]
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Don’t Forget to Visit the Art House
A couple of indies worth your time
Now that we’ve reached the tentative end of the 2026 summer blockbuster season, it’s time to rejoice that “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey” made billions at the box office. Movie theaters might just be safe for the foreseeable future. However, wrapped inside that rejoicing is room to lament that so many indie and […]
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Sex, Drugs and Dinosaurs
An August movie roundup
With the release of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” on July 31, we have officially left behind the Summer Blockbuster season and are now entering that nebulous August/September space where studios and streamers throw everything at the multiplex wall just to see what sticks. It’s not quite prestige, Oscar-bait season yet, so whatever movies you end […]
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The Peter Problem
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is a Marvel of human emotion
What makes Spider-Man the greatest superhero of all-time isn’t his ability to swing through New York City on sticky webs shot from his wrists, nor is it how he protects humanity from villains like Green Goblin and The Vulture. I mean, those feats are certainly impressive, but what makes Spider-Man the absolute best is his […]
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The Millennium Approaches
Angels in America comes to the Greenhouse Cabaret
Countless words have been written about what constitutes the “Great American Novel” and what that phrase even means given the vast breadth of literature published in the United States over the last few centuries. My own rubric has always been that the work must capture something quintessential—not just about life in America, but something profound […]
